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The Impact of Treated Hearing Loss on Quality of Life

The Impact of Treated Hearing Loss on Quality of Life

It would seem that hearing is a second-rate sense when compared to vision in our visually-oriented modern society. People with hearing loss delay a decision to get hearing help because they are unaware of the fact that receiving early treatment for hearing loss has the potential to literally transform their lives. Research by the National Council on Aging on more than 2,000 people with hearing loss, as well as their significant others, demonstrated that hearing aids clearly are associated with impressive improvements in the social, emotional, psychological, and physical well-being of people with hearing loss in all hearing loss categories from mild to severe. Specifically, hearing aid usage is positively related to the following quality of life issues.

Hearing loss treatment was shown to improve:

Earning power

Communication in relationships

Intimacy and warmth in family relationships

Ease in communication

Emotional stability

Sense of control over life events

Perception of mental functioning

Physical health

Group social participation

And just as importantly, hearing loss treatment was shown to reduce:

Discrimination toward the person with the hearing loss

Hearing loss compensation behaviors (i.e. pretending you hear)

Anger and frustration in relationships

Depression and depressive symptoms

Feelings of paranoia

Anxiety

Social phobias

Self-criticism

If you are one of those people with a mild, moderate or severe hearing loss who is sitting on the fence, consider all the benefits of hearing aids described above. Hearing aids hold such great potential to positively change so many lives.

Common Myths of Hearing Aids and Hearing Loss

Myth #1

The consequences of hiding hearing loss are better than wearing hearing aids.

False

What price are you paying for vanity? Untreated hearing loss is far more noticeable than hearing aids. If you miss a punch line to a joke or respond inappropriately in conversation, people may have concerns about your mental acuity, your attention span or your ability to communicate effectively. The personal consequences of vanity can be life altering. At a simplistic level, an untreated hearing loss means giving up some of the pleasant sounds you used to enjoy. At a deeper level, vanity could severely reduce the quality of your life.

Myth #2

Only people with serious hearing loss need hearing aids.

False

The need for hearing amplification is dependent on your lifestyle, your need for refined hearing, and the degree of your hearing loss. If you are a lawyer, teacher or a group psychotherapist where very refined hearing is necessary to discern the nuances of human communication, then even a mild hearing loss can be intolerable. If you live in a rural area by yourself and seldom socialize, then perhaps you are someone who is tolerant of even moderate hearing losses.